(The Oct. 1 story corrects to reflect country of birth was El Salvador, not Honduras) By Nelson Renteria SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – In 1980, a day after urging El Salvador’s military to halt a string of abuses that would inflame a 12-year civil war in the impoverished country, Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot dead while leading Mass. His homilies had blasted the U.S.-backed military dictatorship while voicing solidarity with the poor, making him a Latin American human rights icon. Romero critiqued the military government and armed leftist groups alike.
